Combined crusher and freezer



July 21,1942. J. B. "MCFERRAN, J R., ETAL COMBINEDCRUSHER :AND FREEZERFiled March 2, 1940 I "2. Sheets-Shad 1 Jomv B. MFEQl-MN ale. Geno/N D,HARD/N [NVENTOQS July 21, 1942.

I Fly 2 J. B. M FERRAN, JR., ETAL COMBINED CRUSHER AND FREEZER FiledMarch 2, l940 2 Shets-Sheet 2 a Mm Patented July 21, 1942CGMBKNED'CRUSHER AND FREEZER John B. McFerran, Jr., and Gordon D.Hardin, Louisville, Ky., assignors to Louisville Electric Manufacturing00., Louisville, Ky., a corporation of Kentucky Application March 2,1940, Serial No. 321,976

11 Claims.

This invention relates to ice-cream freezers of the tub type, that is tosay freezers having a tub providing an ice chamber, a churning unitwithin the ice chamber and manually driven or motordriven means foroperating the churning unit.

Heretofore, it has been proposed to incorporate, in the structure ofice-cream freezers of this general character, some means for crushingthe ice which is placed in the ice chamber around the churning unitduring the churning operation. So far as is known, a satisfactorycombination of ice crusher and ice-cream freezer has not yet beendevised.

The principal object of this invention is to combine a rugged andrelatively compact ice crusher with an ice-cream freezer into arelatively inexpensive, highly effective unit.

Another important object is to provide a combination of this generalcharacter of simple design and pleasing appearance.

A further object is to incorporate the ice crusher so that it functionsnot only to crush the ice fed into the freezer but also to efiect apartial distribution of the ice around the churning unit within thechamber.

A further object is to provide a novel form of ice crusher which may bemanufacturedas a relatively inexpensive, highly effective independentunit.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure l is a view, partly in vertical section and side elevation,illustrating a conventional type of freezer to which the invention isapplied;

Figure 2 is a perspective of the retaining wall;

Figure 3 is a top plan View of the Figure 1 structure;

Figure 4 is a section through thecover along line 44 of Figure 3-; I

Figure 5 is a view, partly in vertical section and side elevation,illustrating an alternative freezer structure embodying my invention.

The tub type of freezer shown in Figures 1 through 4 conventionallyincludes: a tub I having circular side walls and a bottom partition 2cooperating to'define an ice chamber; a rotatable churning vessel 3removably positioned centrally within the ice chamber, the vessel havinga removable closely fitting lid 4 and a stationary churning element 5,the upper end of which pro- 1 jects through the lid. Freezers of thistype universally are provided at the bottom with some suitable meanssuch as pin 6 for rotationally centering the vessel within the icechamber, and,

' when the framework is properly mounted on the top of the tub.

In accordance with my invention, an ice crusher is provided in the spacebetween the upper end of the vessel 3 and the framework 1. The crusheris composed of a rotatable crushing element and a stationary retainingwall both of which cooperate to define a crushing chamber whichtaperingly extends in the direction of rotation.

The rotatable crushing element can be conveniently incorporated in thechurning-vessel lid 4. Accordingly, the radial end face, which the lidprovides in relation to the axis of rotation, is provided with a seriesof spaced cutting or crushing elements Ifl. While the lid may be of theconventional flat type, it preferably is fashioned to incline orslope-downwardly from the axis of rotation to its periphery, which isspaced'from the sidewalls of the tub to provide an opening through whichcrushed particles of ice may fall into the ice chamber. Positiverotation of the lid may be insured by cooperating lugs 3a and 4a mountedon the inner walls of the vessel 3 and lid 4 respectively.

The retaining wall presents, in relation to the axis of rotation, a.radially-extending, downweirdly-facing fiat surface which spirals.downwardly aroundthe axis of rotation. This member preferably is in theform of a sheet-metal strip I I which, as shown, is rigidly secured tothe framework land spirally extended approximately %ths of a revolutionaround the axis of rotation. Additionally, it is sloped downwardly, fromthe axis of rotation outwardly toward the tub, simply to conform to theslope of the radial end face of lid-4.

Due to the spiral form of the retaining wall I I, the vertical spacing,between it and lid 4, decreases in the direction of rotation; hence thecrushing chamber formed by these parts tapers inthe same direction. As aconsequence, during operation, when lumps of ice are dropped upon lid 4inadvance of the entrance or mouth of the crushing chamber, they will becarried into the crushing chamber and there compressed between theretaining wall II and the lid 4, whereupon the crushing elements It)will be brought successively into engagement with the at the top, with aframework 1 removably mountice, causing it to break into smaller andsmaller pieces which slide, or are forced, radially outward until theydrop over the edge of the lid 4 into the ice chamber.

Since the retaining strip, when made of light sheet material, willrequire re-enforcement along its length, in order to withstand the heavycrushing pressures created during the operation of the device, theframework 1 is made in the form of a cap or cover fitting over the mouthof the tub and provided with re-enforcing lugs or flanges l2 extendingdownwardly into engagement with the strip H and with an ice-receivingopening it positioned adjacent the ends of the strip H. The frameworkcap 1 may be removably secured to the tub by any suitable means such asthe well-known bayonet type of fastener comprising spaced pins on theouter side walls of the tub adjacent its mouth and correspondinglyspaced slots in the cap along its periphery, the slots extendingupwardly from the periphery and thence horizontally in a directionopposite to the direction of rotation.

Inasmuch as freezers of this general type are usually used in the home,good appearance, coupled with simplicity of design achieved at lowexpense, is highly desirable. An alternative construction embodyingother features of this invention which make the achievement of theseobjectives possible, is illustrated in Figure 5. In this structure, thedriving motor 8 is concealed by mounting it underneath the bottompartition 2 within a chamber formed by extending the side walls of thetub I downwardly. The motor is operatively connected, to the bottom ofthe churning vessel, by extending its drive through a leak-proof fittingI4 on the bottom partition 2. The framework cap I is provided with anaxially arranged depending restraining member or lug 9a which, when thecover is positioned on the tub, fits over the upper end of thestationary churning element to restrain it against rotation. In order tofacilitate the attachment of the framework cover to the tub, a centeringring I5 is arranged concentrically within the upper portion of the icechamber to encircle the churning vessel. The ring I5 is secured in anysuitable manner to the tub l as by means of spaced brackets 8. Thedetails of this structure otherwise are generally similar to thestructure shown in Figures 1 through 4. The use of a bottom drivepermits the motor to be concealed, the framework cap to be rounded off,and the churning element, retaining means to be simplified. In this way,the appearance of the freezer is enhanced and its structure simplifiedat relatively low expense.

Having described our invention, we claim:

1. An improvement in freezers of the class described comprising thecombination with a freezer of the tub type having a lower churningvessel and an upper framework with a space therebetween, of an icecrusher in said space, said crusher including: a member arranged in saidspace for rotation about a vertical axis, said member presenting an endface; crushing elements on said face; and a stationary retaining wall insaid space, said wall being vertically spaced from and cooperating withsaid end face to define a crushing chamber which taperingly extends inthe direction of rotation of said elements.

2. The improvement defined in claim 1 wherein said rotatable member isin the form of a disc with the crushing elements on one face of saiddisc.

3. The improvement defined in claim 1 wherein said rotatable member ispositioned below said wall and fashioned in the form of a disc whichslopes downwardly from its axis of rotation toward its periphery, theretaining Wall being sloped along the narrower portion of the chamber toconform generally to the slope of said disc.

4. The improvement defined in claim 1 wherein said retaining wallextends helically along the axis of rotation of said member.

5. An improvement in freezers of the type having a tub, a rotatablechurning vessel in the tub, and a framework at the upper end of the tubcomprising: a member horizontally arranged over the upper end of thevessel to rotate in one direction therewith, the periphery of saidmember cooperating with the walls of the tub to form an opening;crushing elements on the upper face of said member; and a stationaryretaining wall spaced above said member and cooperating with it todefine a crushing chamber which taperingly extends in the direction ofrotation of said member.

6. The improvement defined in claim 5 wherein said member forms the lidof said churning vessel.

7. The improvement defined in claim 5 wherein said retaining wallextends helically along the axis of rotation of said member.

8. A combination freezer and crusher comprising: a tub having an icechamber; a rotatable churning vessel in said chamber, said vessel havinga lid at its upper end; crushing elements on the upper face of said lid;and a cover framework for the tub, said cover having an inner wall whichextends helically along the axis of rotation to form, in cooperationwith said lid, a crushing chamber taperingly extending in one directionof rotation.

9. The combination defined in claim 8 wherein: said churning vessel andlid are arranged for rotation about a vertical axis; the upper face ofsaid lid slopes downwardly from its axis of rotation toward itsperiphery which cooperates with the inner wall of the tub to form anopening through which the crushing chamber communicates with the icechamber; and said cover is provided with an ice-receiving inlet openingcommunicating with said crushing chamber.

10. A combination freezer and crusher comprising: a tub having a bottompartition dividing the interior of the tub into an upper ice chamber anda lower motor chamber; a churning unit in the upper ice chamber; adriving motor in the lower motor chamber; a driving connection extendingthrough said bottom partition and connecting the motor to the unit; aframework securable to the tub at its upper end; and an ice crusherarranged between said framework ,and the upper end of said unit.

11. The combination defined in claim 10 wherein tub supported means areprovided in the upper part of the ice chamber to center the churningunit therein.

JOHN B. MCFERRAN, JR. GORDON D. I-IARDIN.

